Shaft-coupling and antirattler.



Patented Nov. I2, l90l.

B. H. HEAR".

SHAFT COUPLING AND ANTI (Application filed Apr. 1 190 RATTLER.

(No Model.)

fNVE/VYOR Af/amey 1 Noam: PEYERS co. PHOTQLITNO wnsumo'rou u c UNITEDSTATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT H. HEARN, OF DYER, TENNESSEE.

SHAFT-COUPLING AND ANTlRA'lTLER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 686,454, dated November12, 1901. Application filed April 1, 1901. Serial No: 53,861. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ROBERT H. HEARN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Dyer, in the county of Gibson and State of Tennessee, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Shaft-Couplings andAntirattlers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, referencebeing bad to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of referencemarked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

This invention relates to new and useful improvements in shaft or thillcouplings and antirattlers combined; and it consistsin the provision ofsimple means whereby a shaftiron is securely held to a clip on the axleof a vehicle and held from rattling by means of a tapering pin, which isheld within the clip by means of a spring carried by the axle andengaging said pin in such manner as to hold the same against thetapering wall of the shaftiron and to automatically take up wear betweenthe points of contact.

The invention will be hereinafter more fully described and thenspecifically defined in the appended claims, and is clearly illustratedin the accompanying drawings, which, with the letters of referencemarked thereon, form part of this application, and in which- Figure l isa perspective view of my improved shaft or thill coupling andantirattler shown as attached to the clip on the axle. Fig. 2 is acentral longitudinal vertical section through the eyes of the clip, thepin carried in said eyes and on which the shaft-iron is mounted, saidsection being also through the shaft-iron. Fig. 3 is a detail view ofthe spring, and Fig. 4 is a detail of the pin.

Reference now being had to the details of the drawings by letter, Adesignates the axle of a vehicle, to which a clip B of any wellknownconstruction is attached in the usual manner. This clip has eyes 0 and Oof different diameters adapted to receive the pin D. This pin, it willbe observed upon reference to the drawings, has one end enlarged and acontracted portion D, which is notched at d diagonally with reference tothe length of the pin, and the portion of the pin between the enlargedportion and the contracted portion is beveled, as at E. The smalleraperture C in one of the eyes of the clip is of sufficient size toreceive the contracted end of said pin, while the larger aperture 0 isof sufficient diameter to receive the enlarged end of the pin. \Vhen thepin has been passed through the eyes of the clip, it will be observedthat the tapering portion of the pin will come between the eyes.

The shaft-iron F has an aperture F in its end, which aperture has atapering wall extending partially through the same and merging into acontracted or smaller end which is adapted to receive the contracted endof the pin. The taper or bevel of the inner wall of the shaft-ironconforms to the taper E of the pin, so that when the apertured end ofthe shaft-iron is placed between the eyes of the clip and the pininserted through the registering apertures and forced longitudinallytoward the smaller apertu red eye of the clip the beveled surface of thepin will contact with the beveled or inclined wall of the shaft-iron. Inorder to hold the pin in place, I provide a spring K, which may beeither flat or coiled and secured in any suitable manner to the axle orother fixed portion of the vehicle or clip, said spring having a freeend which is adapted to engage in said inclined notch in the pin and tobear yieldingly against the inner end of said notch, whereby said pinmay be held yieldingly at its farthest inner limit, and under tension ofsaid spring the beveled portion of the pin will bear with suflicientforce against the beveled wall of the shaftiron to prevent theshaft-iron from rattling. By means of this beveled wall of the shaftironit will be observed that all wear incident to the moving of the contactparts of the pin and the shaft-iron will be taken up and any binding ofthe parts prevented.

From the foregoing it will be observed that my device, owing to itssimplicity of construction, may be readily applied to and detached froma vehicle and clip carried by the axle thereon, and when a stiff springis used it will bear with sufficient frictional pressure against theshaft-iron to hold the shafts in an erect position when not in use.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim to be new, and desireto secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A shaft-coupling and antirattler for vehicles, consisting incombination with an axle and clip secured thereto, a shaft-iron havingan aperture therein, with a conical outlined Wall merging into acylindrical outlined portion, a pin carried by the clip and havingportions of its circumference conical and cylindrical, to conform to andengage in said recess of the shaft-iron, and a spring fixed to the axleand adapted to hold the pin yieldingly in contact with the shaft-iron,as set forth.

2. In a combined shaft-coupling and antirattler, the axle and clipsecured thereto, eyes of different diameters in said clip, a shaftironhaving an aperture with a beveled Wall extending partially through same,a pin having one end enlarged and a contracted shank portion connectedby means of the beveled portion, said contracted end having a notched orrecessed portion, and a spring fixed at one end to the axle, and havingits free end engaging said notched portion of the pin, and adapted tohold the latter so that the beveled portion of the pin will 'be held infrictional contact with the beveled wall of the aperture in saidshaft-iron, as set forth.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix my signature in presence of twoWitnesses.

. ROBT. H. HEARN. Witnesses:

R. B. MCDANIEL, O. L. HEARN.

